Tag: sustainability

The European Union is phasing out the use of palm oil in transport fuel, triggering criticism of trade protectionism and threats of retaliation from major producersIndonesia and Malaysia. The palm oil industry, with its national epicenter on that island, is thought to be one of the biggest drivers of that loss, the coalition said. Indonesia and Malaysia together produce over 80 percent of the world’s palm oil. Versatile and widely used, palm oil has suffered a patchy reputation. Food giant Nestl

The European Union is phasing out the use of palm oil in transport fuel, triggering criticism of trade protectionism and threats of retaliation from major producersIndonesia and Malaysia.

The European move comes after years of activist campaigns about the vegetable oil associated with rampant deforestation and labor abuses, highlighting how consumer concerns about sustainability are increasingly influencing businesses.

According to Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of environmental non-governmental organizations co-founded by the World Wildlife Fund, the large Indonesian island of Sumatra lost 56 percent of its 25 million hectares (250,000 square kilometers, or bigger than the size of the U.K.) of natural forests over 31 years.

The palm oil industry, with its national epicenter on that island, is thought to be one of the biggest drivers of that loss, the coalition said.

France and Norway have become the first few countries to start curbing use of palm oil in the last month, driving fears in major Southeast Asian producing countries, where the cash crop has powered economic growth. Indonesia and Malaysia together produce over 80 percent of the world’s palm oil.

More broadly, the EU agreed in June to phase out the use of palm oil in transport fuel from 2030 as part of a broader plan to increase the share of renewables in the bloc’s energy production. The EU is one of the world’s top consumers of palm oil, which is used in a wide range of products from baked goods to detergents.

“This is a most unwelcome decision and goes against the very principles of free and fair trade. The vote by the (French) parliamentarians is alarming and deserves the strongest condemnation,” said Malaysian Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok, news agency Bernama reported.

Indonesia has threatened retaliation numerous times over such a move by the EU, with the country’s trade minister going as far as saying that the EU is asking for a “trade war” with its palm oil curbs, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.

Versatile and widely used, palm oil has suffered a patchy reputation.

“One of the most significant risks to the palm oil sector resides in its poor sustainability records and negative reputation in developed markets, which pose threats to future demand,” said Fitch Solutions in a recent note. “Although some large plantation companies are making efforts to improve their sustainability records … we note that the reputation of the global palm oil industry has not improved.”

High-profile companies catering to consumers are taking steps to stem any fallout to their businesses.

Other than the EU tightening its regulations, large food and drink companies are moving towards procuring sustainable palm oil in the short term and are putting increasing pressure on their traditional providers that are unable to comply with sustainability standards, added Fitch Solutions.

Food giant Nestle has set a goal to procure 100 percent sustainable certified palm oil by 2020. The Swiss company addresses questions and issues about sustainability on its website, including explaining how they have suspended or ended partnerships with specific suppliers who may have questions hanging over ethical sourcing.

Lawmakers in the U.K. have questioned online “fast fashion” retailers about the impact of their production processes on workers and the environment. Stella Claxton, senior lecturer in fashion management, marketing and communication at Nottingham Trent University, said the UK fashion industry in its current form was “not that environmentally sustainable.” “Thinking about how consumption in Asia is going to rise in the next few years and how UK brands are looking to service those markets. Further

Lawmakers in the U.K. have questioned online “fast fashion” retailers about the impact of their production processes on workers and the environment.

Mary Creagh, chair of the U.K. government’s Environmental Audit Committee, wrote to five online-only fashion retailers — including global firms Amazon and ASOS — to request information on areas including staff wages, the life-cycle of the garments sold, and steps being taken to reduce the environmental and social impact of their businesses.

The committee said it was considering policy recommendations on reducing the harm caused by cheap garment production, and would factor in the retailers’ responses when delivering those recommendations to fellow lawmakers.

Published Friday, letters to Amazon and ASOS asked the retailers how they had ensured that all garment workers are paid the minimum wage; whether they educated suppliers on the cost of U.K. labour; and what recycled materials were used in their products.

Retailers were given a deadline of November 15 to respond to the letters, with MPs suggesting they could ask certain companies to give evidence in parliament.

In a statement on Friday, Creagh said evidence the committee had heard on October 30 from industry experts “raised alarm bells about the fast growing online-only retail sector.”

“Low quality £5 ($6.51) dresses aimed at young people are said to be made by workers on illegally low wages and are discarded almost instantly, causing mountains of non-recycled waste to pile up,” she said.

“We will be calling some of these online retailers in front of the Committee to answer questions, but in the meantime, my letters encourage them to face up to the social and environmental consequences of their business models. We want to know that they are fully compliant with employment law, that garments have a decent life-span, and that profit is not put before environmental damage.”

Stella Claxton, senior lecturer in fashion management, marketing and communication at Nottingham Trent University, said the UK fashion industry in its current form was “not that environmentally sustainable.”

“Coupled with that we have a situation where chasing low prices has led to global supply chains looking for cheaper manufacturing, which is normally in developing countries,” she said. “Thinking about how consumption in Asia is going to rise in the next few years and how UK brands are looking to service those markets. Although it is a UK problem, it is a global problem as well.”

Further evidence raised concern that suppliers in developing countries outsourced to sweatshops or were not paying workers the minimum wage. “Sweatshop” is a term for a workplace that has very poor, socially unacceptable working conditions.

Amazon declined to comment on the issue. In an email to CNBC, an ASOS spokesperson said: “ASOS is looking forward to co-operating with the committee.”

When Stephanie Dickson landed her dream job straight out of college, she thought she had it made. But then one day the veil fell, and Dickson realized the job she had dreamed of was not what it seemed. “I got my dream job,” Dickson told CNBC Make It. In fact, alongside commonly cited culprits like the energy, transport and agriculture sectors, the fashion industry is today considered one of the world’s largest polluters. “I felt completely blindsided,” said Dickson, whose disillusionment led her

When Stephanie Dickson landed her dream job straight out of college, she thought she had it made.

She had fantasized her whole life about working in fashion and, suddenly, she had a job that allowed her to do that, organizing some of the industry’s biggest events across Asia.

But then one day the veil fell, and Dickson realized the job she had dreamed of was not what it seemed.

“I got my dream job,” Dickson told CNBC Make It. “But about three and a half years in, I just became really disconnected with the work I was doing.”

It was then 2015, and climate change was gaining increasing attention on the international stage. To Dickson’s surprise, she found there was one industry lurking at the center of the issue: Her own.

In fact, alongside commonly cited culprits like the energy, transport and agriculture sectors, the fashion industry is today considered one of the world’s largest polluters.

“I felt completely blindsided,” said Dickson, whose disillusionment led her to start watching documentaries and reading up on the issue. “I’d been working in this industry and I had no idea what actually was going on.”

Projects funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank must not add to the receiving country’s debt burden, the lender’s president Jin Liqun said on Tuesday. The AIIB — a China-led multilateral development bank — also faced similar skepticism given its focus on infrastructure financing, including projects under the BRI. Getting the private sector involved is key to making sure any infrastructure development is sustainable, Jin said. “(The) private sector can create jobs for people and priva

Projects funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank must not add to the receiving country’s debt burden, the lender’s president Jin Liqun said on Tuesday.

“We do not simply lend to the countries for their sovereign guarantees,” Jin told CNBC’s “Street Signs.”

“We work actively with the private sector companies in those countries so that our investments would not build up heavy pressure on their debt burden,” he added. “It’s very important for our members to continually invest in infrastructure and other productive sectors without creating debt burden.”

Jin’s comments came amid mounting criticisms that the push for massive infrastructure building in developing countries has increased their debt in an unsustainable way. Those criticisms were particularly directed at China’s mega program called the Belt and Road Initiative.

The AIIB — a China-led multilateral development bank — also faced similar skepticism given its focus on infrastructure financing, including projects under the BRI.

Making sure recipient countries can pay back their debt is a priority of the Chinese government, said Zou Jiayi, vice minister of China’s Ministry of Finance.

“The Chinese government attached a lot of importance to the debt sustainability when we pursued BRI because we are the creditor, we are the stakeholder. Those are our money,” she said earlier this month at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bali.

Getting the private sector involved is key to making sure any infrastructure development is sustainable, Jin said. That has been AIIB’s focus, which has helped to silence skeptics, he added.

“I’m pleased to see that the skepticism is now history,” said Jin. “(The) private sector can create jobs for people and private sector companies can help the developing countries move up on the value chain. So, we think it makes a lot of sense for us to work with the private sector.”

HP Inc. CEO discusses importance of trust from ‘the epicenter of innovation’8 Hours AgoJim Cramer sits down with HP Inc. President and CEO Dion Weisler in the place where Hewlett-Packard began to discuss brand trust, sustainability and HP Inc.’s recent success.

Between kids, aging parents, holidays, emergencies and all the pesky appointments required to keep these human bodies healthy, life happens when we’re at work. That’s why smart companies are honoring relationships through what I call “intentional work practices,” that will proactively provide intentional space within a person’s schedule to take care of themselves and their family. While this might feel risky in the short-term, when it comes to running a human workplace, the long game is the only

Anyone who has ever had a job and a life at the same time knows this is true. Between kids, aging parents, holidays, emergencies and all the pesky appointments required to keep these human bodies healthy, life happens when we’re at work. That’s why smart companies are honoring relationships through what I call “intentional work practices,” that will proactively provide intentional space within a person’s schedule to take care of themselves and their family. While this might feel risky in the short-term, when it comes to running a human workplace, the long game is the only game in town.

I love the way online foodie-heaven, Food52, folds intentional flexibility into their workplace. The co-founders and CEOs know how important it is for their employees to be in the office to connect with each other, but they also understand the importance of taking care of life’s business. To achieve this important balance, they choose to be concrete and intentional about how and when employees work from home. They call it Workday Wednesday, and it’s so important, it’s included in the employee handbook:

Food52 team members have the option to work from home on Wednesdays when needed. This way, people who really must work from home can do so, and there will be fewer days that people miss each other. And, of course, we know there are occasional emergencies, like having to take delivery of your great aunt Bessie’s grand piano, and we’re happy to be flexible when these occasions arise.

As Marne Levine, COO of Instagram, put it, “Pursuing a sustainability agenda is a natural extension of our mission, because it means making sure that the communities we serve are healthy and resilient.”

Playing the long game is the path to true sustainability, which is how we honor everyone — by keeping us alive, healthy and employed.

Starbucks announced Thursday that it is deepening its commitment to sustainability with a plan to build 10,000 “greener stores” around the globe by 2025, a move that will encompass new stores and renovations. The plan follows the coffee giant’s pledge to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its stores around the globe by 2020. Starbucks plans to audit its company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada. Today there are more than 1,500 LEED-certified Starbucks stores globally. Starbucks’ plans ar

Starbucks announced Thursday that it is deepening its commitment to sustainability with a plan to build 10,000 “greener stores” around the globe by 2025, a move that will encompass new stores and renovations.

The plan follows the coffee giant’s pledge to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its stores around the globe by 2020.

Starbucks plans to audit its company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada. Since 2001, it has been working with the U.S. Green Building Council to help develop the LEED for Retail program, opening up its first LEED, or green-certified store, more than a decade ago. Today there are more than 1,500 LEED-certified Starbucks stores globally.

“Woven into the fabric of Starbucks is the view that the pursuit of profits is not in conflict with the pursuit of doing good,” CEO Kevin Johnson said in a call with CNBC. “We have been on a sustainability journey for many years, it starts with the way we grow our coffee to the work we do with LEED-certified stores, to the work we do around greener cups and plastic straws. Today’s announcement extends that to go beyond a LEED-certified store and will focus on operating those stores in a more sustainable way.”

The move will save Starbucks some $50 million in utility costs over the next decade, building on its current 10-year legacy of utility cost savings generated from its green practices already in place. Those steps save it some $30 million annually in operating costs, the company said.

Starbucks’ plans are being developed in concert with experts from the World Wildlife Fund, and will be audited and verified by SCS Global Services, which oversees Starbucks’ Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices. The materials will also be shared so other retailers can follow suit, Starbucks said.

“This framework represents the next step in how Starbucks is approaching environmental stewardship, looking holistically at stores and their role in helping to ensure the future health of our natural resources,” said Erin Simon, director of R&D at World Wildlife Fund, U.S., in a release. “When companies step up and demonstrate leadership, other businesses often follow with commitments of their own, driving further positive impacts.”

Starbucks has long been committed to sustainability with initiatives including 99 percent ethically sourced coffee, its pledge to develop and help bring to market a fully recyclable and compostable hot cup, and offering discounts to customers who bring in reusable cups or tumblers at its company-owned stores globally, among others.

Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund has said that it expects businesses to “manage the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable uses of the ocean.” Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund on behalf of the finance ministry, said Wednesday that companies should, among other things: integrate ocean sustainability into strategy; integrate material ocean-related risks into risk management; and act responsibly and transparently on ocean-

Businesses should also, NBIM said, “disclose how ocean sustainability forms part of their strategies, policies and commitments.”

The issue of ocean pollution is a serious one. To give just one example, more than 700 species “encounter marine litter in the environment” according to the University of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit.

“The ocean is a vital part of the biosphere and an important part of the global economy,” Yngve Slyngstad, NBIM’s CEO, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We expect companies to manage the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable use of the ocean,” Slyngstad added.

Wednesday also saw NBIM publish a note relating to how it, as a responsible investor, could support sustainable development and help “fulfil the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

The UN’s goals address a host of subjects, including the environment, poverty, climate change and gender equality.

“The fund’s investments in more than 9,000 companies in 72 countries contribute directly and indirectly to a number of the SDGs,” Slyngstad said. “Our most important contribution is to strengthen governance, improve performance and promote sustainable business practices,” he added.

The fund, Slyngstad said, invested in developing markets and businesses that were coming up with solutions for a “more environmentally friendly economy.” It also divested from companies that had “unsustainable business models.”

What a difference the birth of a granddaughter can make. In 2005, midway through his tenure, he challenged his employees: “What would it take for Walmart to be that company, at our best, all the time?” Of course, it was more than Scott’s granddaughter that pushed the retailer in this direction. We spent five years studying the program – speaking with Walmart’s sustainability leaders, its suppliers and others who have a stake in the company’s activities such as environmental groups and farmers. O

For Lee Scott, who ran Walmart from 2000 to 2009, the arrival of his granddaughter not only convinced him the threat of global warming was real but set him on a course that altered the very DNA of the world’s largest retailer. He decided he wanted to use its size and resources to make the world an “even better place for all of us,” changing the way millions shop in the process.

In 2005, midway through his tenure, he challenged his employees: “What would it take for Walmart to be that company, at our best, all the time?”

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The answer became Walmart’s sustainability program, an ambitious effort to figure out how to get its budget-conscious customers to buy more sustainable products. Of course, it was more than Scott’s granddaughter that pushed the retailer in this direction. A dismal perception among the public as well as a stagnant stock price also played roles in prodding Scott and other Walmart officials to take the company in a more environmentally aware direction.

We spent five years studying the program – speaking with Walmart’s sustainability leaders, its suppliers and others who have a stake in the company’s activities such as environmental groups and farmers. Our findings highlight both the promises and perils of what one Walmart executive optimistically termed the “democratization of sustainability.”

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi announced on Monday that she was stepping down, following a 12-year run as CEO and 24 years with the company. He lamented the future of PepsiCo’s products after noticing that the snacks weren’t popular with his daughter and her friends. “I realized that these kids represented the future and the future looked grim for these kinds of unhealthy snacks.” “[Nooyi] saw the future coming – a future of sustainability and healthy eating – when few others did.” Cramer described Noo

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi announced on Monday that she was stepping down, following a 12-year run as CEO and 24 years with the company. President Ramon Laguarta will take over the role in October.

Since Nooyi became CFO in 2000, the stock has increased 411 percent, having a higher return than both the consumer staples group and the S&P 500 overall. Dividends have tripled since she became CEO in 2006, and the number of billion-dollar brands within the company grew from 17 to 22.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer recounted one of his first interactions with Nooyi over a decade ago. He lamented the future of PepsiCo’s products after noticing that the snacks weren’t popular with his daughter and her friends.

“I had thrown a sleepover party for my daughter’s swim team. I had stocked baskets all over the house with Doritos and Cheetos and Lay’s potato chips, and the kids studiously avoided them. I was shocked,” he said. “I realized that these kids represented the future and the future looked grim for these kinds of unhealthy snacks.”

After the segment aired, Nooyi called the “Mad Money” host to dispute his comments. Not long after, Cramer visited PepsiCo’s factory in Aberdeen and had a change of perspective.

“I saw the future: sustainable snacks with very little sodium and very little fat made in a factory that had no water footprint because it used the excess water from the potatoes it cut,” he said. “[Nooyi] saw the future coming – a future of sustainability and healthy eating – when few others did.”

Since then, Cramer has praised Nooyi’s refusal to sacrifice corporate responsibility and sustainability in favor of short-term growth.

“Her ‘Performance with a Purpose’ program and her notion of ‘doing well by doing good’ are her real hallmarks as Nooyi has pioneered the notion of healthier options while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and being at the forefront of diversity,” he said. “These moves don’t pay off immediately. But they’re still good ones.”

Cramer described Nooyi’s successor, Ramon Laguarta, as “an insider with tremendous international experience” and implored him to “follow in [Nooyi’s] giant footsteps.”

The “Mad Money” host added that the run in PepsiCo’s stock after Nooyi announced her departure could mean that investors expect Laguarta to bring out value in a radical way. But as an investor in PepsiCo for his charitable trust, Cramer didn’t necessarily want instant gratification.

“I’m not interested in short-term pops,” Cramer said. “We want long-term stability and sustainability. We want what Indra’s given us for years.”

Shares of PepsiCo closed up almost one percent on Monday, at $117 a share.